Update: Day 339; A Bay Filly is BORN!!!!! Watch her play on MareStare!

[chrissymack]

So we're at day 323 here with our big 17.2+h maiden mare. I know we're only at day 323, and most likely have a long way to go, but today is the first day of noticable changes from the previous day!

Just wanted to check in with my COTH experts ;) and see how things are looking...I've uploaded several pics here: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562754841isDqxY

I've been able to express liquid from her for about a week now, even before she started showing any mild udder changes (linear enlarging and firming), which has been steadily (but marginally) increasing the past few days.
The liquid started out yellowish (and could easily get a good amount), and is now quite clear and harder to express. That being said, she did have drippings of white down the inside of her legs tonight (see pics). I have not yet noticed any waxing. I tried Predict-a-foal kit; shows no changes there.

She's showing veins throughout her underbelly and stifle tonight. Her tail and directly above it still has resistance, but the area to either side all the way down is very relaxed and jiggly. Vulva is only mildly relaxed from typical; still some small wrinkles around the bottom & pinkish color inside.

Both eyes were watering tonight; uncharacteristic (I'm listing everything I can think of!! :lol:).

So??? Long way to go yet??

[eyesontheground]

Oh man is she cute!

My guess about the eyes watering is bc of pollen? We are getting ready to be swamped up here...so you guys prob are enjoying the haze of yellow right now.

I could be wrong...maybe the baby is pushing out the tears!! (Just to be clear...I had a BM tell me one time that the mare was shedding hair bc the baby was pushing it out...no, I am pretty sure she was shedding bc it was...SPRINGTIME! I couldn't tell if she was being serious or joking. In this case...I am joking. Of course, someone with more knowledge than me will prob have a better reason and then I will feel dumb.)

Have fun waiting for this one!!!

[Elio04]

She is a looker! My guess is you still have a little ways to go, but those maidens sure can fool ya. Who is she in foal to??

[alliekat]

Sound like you are getting close. My mare is 339 days today. She doesn't have a bag but I am keeping a record on every little change that I notice too. I bet you are getting excited!!! Good luck and keep us posted

[chrissymack]

:lol: Yes, I wasn't thinking the watering eyes was so much of a sign:lol:

She's definitely big, though!

The one thing that caught my attention was the ultra soft flanks on either side of her tail & white drips seen inside her legs...especially as I'm not able to express much from her right now, and her udder isn't all bagged up like many of the photos I've seen (although she's a maiden, so there go all the rules :rolleyes:)

Normal?? Weeks, months, years away from foaling still???? Over-excited MO??? :yes:

[chrissymack]

In foal to Nevada of Fairview Horse Center :)

[chrissymack]

OK, we're at day 327 now...she just keeps GROWING!!! I updated pics from today at the above link...how're we looking??

[chrissymack]

HOLY COW!!!! Literally!! I think we have a cow?!?! :eek:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2058683110036226161csUZNM

[Philosopher]

A really, REALLY pretty cow.

[chrissymack]

:D Thanks!!! I figured we were just biased!!! ;):lol:

So still no waxing; no changes on the Predict-a-Foal strip.

Udder and teats are VERY firm; light yellow liquid streams out easily when squeezed. Sides of tail head are jiggly, but top is still quite hard (does it ever soften?). Vulva is slightly longer, but still a few wrinkles toward the top. She seems more sunken through the hindquarters, and her belly's just ENORMOUS!!
She's got crazy veins all over her belly and legs, and the poor thing's stocked up a bit behind...she's got cankles!!

Still ever-eager for food, still sweet and love-y.

Sigh....I'm hoping it'll be this weekend when I have Friday off from school (I'm a teacher)...or maybe 11 days from now when we start spring break (if she could refrain from BURSTING at the seams that long?!)

[Donkaloosa]

Yep, that's a cow! Probably the most unflattering picture ever taken of such a pretty horse! :-) Heavens, it makes me hurt just to look at how enormous she is!

Donk

[Castlegate]

OHMIGOD! I am so sorry for laughing...but I am!!!! She is HUGE!!!! Your poor poor beautiful mare - I look at her and worry that my big girl still has a month to go and she is already miserable...not nearly that big - and already miserable!

Waiting patiently for the foal alert!

[DLee]

She is lovely! And large!

Just to let you know, we are at 343 days here today, the Predict a Foal Kit showed five very fast turning squares LAST FRIDAY, and every night since then. Had first drops of wax last night, this is a maiden as well. I'm headed out to find some pH strips somewhere today. Good luck!

[goodmorning]

That is one large mare :D :lol:

[chrissymack]

...and she's a MAIDEN!!! They say maidens don't show as much the first time around?!?! YIKES!!! We may need a TRIPLE wide stall for her next year!!! :lol:

[pearl's mom]

Oh My!! She's huge. I wouldn't tell her you posted that pic on the net. ;)
Your farm is gorgeous. My vet is at the end of your RD. Best of luck with Momma and baby.

[Reds-n-Greys]

WOW!!!! She is beautiful! and big , but don't tell her we noticed!!

[bellaalexander]

Ah she is soo cute!! My mares eyes are watering as well - she is not in foal, but I am in Fl - it must be the pollen.

You know you are going to have a BIG chesnut filly with lots of chrome!!

[chrissymack]

Uh oh! Don't let my husband hear that!! He says "NO CHESTNUT MARES!!!" :lol:

[chrissymack]

Today was day 335, and we saw significant changes even within the day today.
Liquid was medium yellow this morning and EASY easy to express, but upon check just now her udder has filled out a bit more and gotten quite hard & very difficult to get liquid from.

It is a light cloudy yellow, and we saw the FIRST (finally) barely changes on the Predict-a-foal kit: 3/4 of a SINGLE square turned red.

Still a great appetite, still a good amount of resistance in the top of the tail, still some wrinkles in the vulva... Baby is still thumping around in there as usual; poor momma is SO tolerant of me poking and prodding at her, and when it's coupled with a sharp KICK (where I can see a jab coming out of her side), she just turns her head at me and gives a little pathetic "please give me a cookie, I think I deserve another one" look. :lol:

Our customers threw Icebreaker a surprise baby shower this evening with sweet gifts, good food (moreso for the people than Ice), and even had a cake with a photo of pregnant Momma printed onto it (too cute!).

We told her with all this effort everyone went to for her, she'd better foal soon ;)

[Signature]

Oh my gosh, that is the sweetest thing I have ever heard! To throw a baby shower for her! AWWW! That is adorable.

It's so exciting when you start to see changes on the milk test. I can't wait to get home from work to do the test each night; it's the highlight of my day. We're waiting on one right now at 330, and it's so fun.

Best of luck for a safe and healthy mare and foal!! :winkgrin:

[AppJumpr08]

Aww a baby shower :) That's so sweet.

She does look like she's progressing now - those udder pictures really show it!

Good luck - babies are so much fun!! :)

[chrissymack]

Oh my gosh, that is the sweetest thing I have ever heard! To throw a baby shower for her! AWWW! That is adorable.



Oh, you have NO idea!!! :eek:

They brought all kinds of food, decorated with baby decor, gave cute gifts, had cute little "foal" games with prizes, gave us a huge sign to announce the gender of the foal when it's born (to hang on our front fence)...I just uploaded a pic of the cake they had for us...with a digital photo of Big Momma printed right into the icing-- TOO CUTE!!!!!
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2598021300036226161WTQEhM

We truly do have a fantastic group, and a phenomenal sense of comradare within our barn--we are SO thankful!
It REALLY touched us to see the love and support for our little critter-to-be!! I think this just may be the most spoiled un-born foal around!! :lol: :yes:

[chrissymack]

OK, so today (Day 336) we had a SUPER firm, much larger udder, spanning from behind the belly button all the way to the furthest point between her legs. Teats were also very firm.

Her belly is making tons of LOUD gurgling noises. No change in attitude or appetite; she's still ravenous as per usual (in fact, we laid straw down today for the first time, and she's intermittently munch on pieces of straw here and there, too...groan!)

I caught 3 yawns in a row earlier in the day (might have just been contagious from mine from not sleeping the past few nights!)

Right around the top of the tail seems loose still...and the bottom of her vulva is sort of drooping open a bit, although there are still some wrinkles to the side, and she flexes closed for a moment when I first lift her tail.

She's sort of ballooning out and up on her sides back where there's usually an indent (above where her leg meets her belly).

It's Much harder to extract anything from her today...but the amount that I HAVE gotten had been cloudy-clearish, with tiny tiny white flecks in it.

Now, come the time of night when I test it, I get NOTHING! One drop!!
Her udder and teats are very hard. With continued manipulation of the area, it softens considerably toward the back, and the teets softened as well (it's almost like they deflate), but still very hard toward the front, and virtually nothing comes out.

It's driving me crazy...the udder is obviously heavy and full & it's the most promising night yet to test, and nothing TO test! :no:

Any ideas??

[Laurierace]

If you have warm water in the barn you can try running the hose over her bag for 10 minutes or so and then massage the whole thing a little bit at a time to get it to soften up. It will get noticably softer where you are massaging, then move on to a different part of her bag until the whole thing is done. If there is no warm water you can try the massage without it. Once it softens up you should be able to get some out without any problem.

[chrissymack]

Thanks for the great advice!! I gave both the warm water and massaging a try, but still nothing. Guess I'll wait until morning and try again then...she still shows no discomfort or immediate signs of foaling.
Thanks again!

[chrissymack]

Day 337 now & she looks like an elephant!!

Udder still VERY firm; fluid extracted (with much difficulty!!) looks translucenty with tiny white flecks in it (still only 1 square change). Her vulva is definitely stretched down now, but was winking repeatedly this afternoon.

Her shape has changed so that she seems fuller toward her hindquarters on the sides, rather than strictly a big balloon belly hanging underneath.

She has had looser stools for the last couple days as well.

We installed a camera to stream live video feed from her stall. We have it panning back and forth across her stall (it's ENORMOUS...and of course she still looks huge in it!), but also have the ability to stop it, and adjust the view from within our apartment here.

It's great...hooks up to our VCR to record, the TV to watch, the computer to watch. I just set up with MareStare; it should be up and active by tomorrow they said. If you want to view, click the following link, then click on the tab at the top that says Locale[Video] to view live feed:
Click HERE to Watch Icebreaker LIVE (http://www.marestare.com/pinehurst.php)

During daylight hours it should show up in color, but when the lights are out, it switches to Night Vision mode, which is low quality and in black and white. The quality's great here on my own computer and TV, but seems like it's getting lost somewhere in the streaming. We're still trying to work the kinks out, but you should be able to see SOMETHING :yes:

[wildREDhorse]

For some reason when I click it, the page will not load... :(

[chrissymack]

Hmmm...OK thanks; I just switched w/ MareStare. They said it should be avail by tomorrow.

[chrissymack]

OK! Marestare feed of Icebreaker is now ON! http://www.marestare.com/pinehurst.php

I was watching her on video last night; lots of yawning...of course, it was night time, and I'm usually sleeping, so that could be no different than usual ;)

Icebreaker's udder is COMPLETELY full today (so much pressure, poor thing!). Milk comes freely out. It is opaque, and has a slight yellow tinge to it.

Her vulva is completely relaxed; not a wrinkle in sight. She is very relaxed around the sides of her tail head, but the top is still firm, and she still has plenty of resistance to it. (for those of you watching online, it's normal for her to hold her tail to the left a bit, but frequently lifting it up often is new). Manure is back to being normal; less cow-pattyish (thank goodness, as she is the MESSIEST monster horse around!!)

Her shape has changed again even from yesterday, to more of a slab-sided, deep back of her belly figure.

While she has shown no temperament changes, no changes in routine and CERTAINLY no appetite changes :lol:, the tests I ran on her milk today showed FAST changes of 4 squares, with the 5th square sort of half changing; giving us an 85% chance that she will foal within the next 12-24 hours.

Exciting stuff!! I'm currently uploading pics from today onto her photo journal: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562754841isDqxY

[gf]

Is she going? I saw her down with someone in the stall and now she is up with two people - maybe a vet? Its really hard to tell what you're looking at.

[chrissymack]

She hasn't gone down yet...it's sort of deceiving b/c its from a direct overhead view, but she's happily munching right now. Her feed buckets and hay are directly below the camera, so for the most part for the next while she'll probably be buried there :yes:
The doors to her stall (there are 2) are along the same wall as the camera.

My husband is the tall guy; he'll be the only man you'll see on the video streaming...I'm the short thin brunette that's been going in and out; I wrapped her tail, gave her a little primping and fluffed up her stall just in case. ;)

Our vet is a blonde with a long wavy ponytail, for reference sake...she hasn't come out yet; not until after most likely. :)


Oh, and you can adjust the brightness and contrast of the video as well as size, etc. by right clicking on it & going to Video Settings.

[chrissymack]

I noticed beginning yesterday that she'd sort of lift one of her hind legs up and just hold it there for a second.

Tonight on camera I'm seeing her take a break from eating, walk to the middle of her stall, stay still as can be, then lift a hindleg up high all the way to her belly for a good minute, then put it back down...then the other one....then the first one....then go back to eating. Maybe a little belly ache or mild cramps? Poor little Momma!!

[chrissymack]

Within the last 4 hours her shape has completely changed again...she no longer has the bumps in front of her hips; it is concave there again!


We're at 5 fast square changes now, and milk is opaque and white!:D

She is biting at her belly and continually lifting her legs to her stomach...getting closer!!

[Fairview Horse Center]

Oh, my, I had not checked in for a few days. She is progressing right along there! Your boarders sound super! That is my kind of group! LOVE the banner and the cake. We need a photo of that banner hanging on your entrance gate. ;)

When she starts to foal, if you need someone to talk too, I sleep with my cell phone, and I am totally ok with getting 3 AM calls if you are worried. :D 703.203.9107

I am thinking "no chestnut filliy" just for your husband :cool:

[Rival]

Congrats! Is it a boy or a girl?

[shea'smom]

It is so hard to tel what is going on. Hoping for some news soon.
Congrats!

[chrissymack]

It's a little bay filly; she has the exact star and snip as her mother, and a little bit of white all around

I'll try to put the camera back on motion so you can see what's happening.

She foaled & passed the placenta EXTREMELY quickly; all went great but a slight vulva tear...nothing internal however.

SO exciting!!:D

[Signature]

Congratulations!! Wonderful news! We need pictures!:D

[Leigh]

Congratulaions :)
Is baby OK?

[Castlegate]

YEAH! BAY FILLY!!!!! Congrats! WHOO HOO!!!!!

[chrissymack]

Baby looks great; lots of energy & full of life!

She's having trouble latchng to suckle, though...gets in the right spot, but still having difficulty. We're bottlefeeding her intermittently to get the colostrum into her between bouts of trying.

OK! We're back live again!! You can see baby and all her antics as she's playing!!

[spacely]

What a cutie! Congrats!

[Fairview Horse Center]

I missed it! Congratulations! And not a chestnut. ;)

[pony grandma]

What time did she have it? I've been watching your's and Acottongim's. I was up twice last night to check on them. I have to live vicariously this year, I didn't do another breeding, so I have to get my baby fix.

The babies are addicting. You have to spend all your time the first several weeks just drinking it up. And all the folks at your barn getting to enjoy it right along with you .... how thoughtful of you!

We decided to do our first breeding the year that our teenage daughters got so busy with h.s. schoolwork in advanced classes and swim team. It backed me off of their riding but the breeding kept them involved getting a rounder horseman education, and in our backyard at home. They learned about the mare care, they were in the stall at 3 a.m. with us foaling, they learned how to handle the foal, watched it grow up, saw all the changes, experienced all the behaviors, they did all the training and started it under saddle. Then just 'for me' I did a couple more foals b/c I had an opportunity to lease an outstanding mare. It was an incredible family experience. But time and money wise I'm done now. So all of you out there carry on! I really know now what the special joy and excitement is. Enjoy every minute of it!

[FLIPPED HER HALO]

Congratulations Chrissy!

[chrissymack]

"April" (barn name...show name from name-that-foal contest still to be announced!) was born at 6:30am today, Day 339. April Fool's!!

She's got REALLY unusual markings!! Black mane, black/brown tail, light golden brown coat, blondish underside, really light legs, white socks, black rim or black spots in the fur at the bottom of the socks, black/white feet. We'll see how she turns out with a few weeks!

She's really rambuncious, too!! A handful at only 4 hours old!! We had to keep her over to one side of the stall while the vet sutured Icebreaker (she had several tears in and around the vulva, and of course the only place she wanted to be was back there seeing what was up! Even threw out a buck and a leap when we wouldn't let her past! :lol:

[wildREDhorse]

Do we have updated pictures? I saw a camera in there earlier!

[chrissymack]

They're uploading right now...on the webshots page

[pony grandma]

She's got REALLY unusual markings!! Black mane, black/brown tail, light golden brown coat, blondish underside, really light legs, white socks, black rim or black spots in the fur at the bottom of the socks, black/white feet. We'll see how she turns out with a few weeks.


You won't know until she sheds out about weaning time. One of ours was a bright orange fuzzybear, then she shed out a very beautiful dark black bay. And the black legs look light colored until then also.

[FLIPPED HER HALO]

Just looked at all her pics in your album. Congrats, she's cute!

[chrissymack]

Neat; I'll be interested to see how she turns out! Definitely some unique socks!!

[Fairview Horse Center]

I LOVE bright bays with chrome! What a cutie!

[Leather]

Wow, she's got quite the ermine spots on her socks--I love them!

Congrats! I so wanted to watch, but I couldn't get the stream to work with my Mac.

Can't wait to see pics of her all dried off and running around.

[pony grandma]

Oh yeah, a bright bay. The inspector is going to have fun drawing that jewelry on her papers!

It always amazes me to see them first born and wonder how all of that was folded up inside of mom.